Iranian airliner skids off runway killing 17

An Iranian passenger plane burst into flames and skidded off the runway as it was landing in a northeastern city, killing 17 people, said the state news agency.

Footage from Iran's PressTV showed the front end of the plane had been sheared off, leaving mangled wreckage where the cockpit had once been. The rest of the plane appeared largely intact, though it rested awkwardly on its tail.

The Russian-made Ilyushin plane from the privately owned Aria Airlines was carrying 153 passengers and flew from the capital Tehran to the northeastern city of Mashhad, 1,000 kilometres away.

Local official Ghahrman Rashid told the state news agency that another 19 people injured in the crash and that all survivors had been evacuated from the scene.

On July 15, an Iranian passenger plane crashed soon after take off, killing 168 people aboard.

It was the latest in a string of deadly crashes in recent years that have highlighted Iran's difficulties in maintaining its aging fleet of planes.

Iranian airlines, including state-run ones, are chronically strapped for cash, and maintenance has suffered, experts say.